As we understand, newspapers, as a physical printed copy, have declined in sales by 50% since 2005. As a result, most Newspapers have increased their online presence and some, The Independent, are now solely available online. They have become an evolving media product in this regard.
Your task for today:
Your task for today:
- Create a blog-post called News: An Evolving Media Product.
- Go to the Daily Mail's and The Guardian's home-pages and scroll through the various sections. Take note of the layout, the format, the obvious differences between online and print media. Think about how the internet adapts to readers and how they entice viewers to spend more time on their website and, more importantly, keep them coming back. Don't forget to think deeply about how each newspaper has a different agenda and how this affects their gatekeeping.
To organise your analysis.
- Name the two online editions and put links to the websites on to your blog post.
- Looking at each in turn, do they follow the same codes and conventions as their print publications. If not, explain how they differ. Label an image of each page with any new conventions when compared with the print version of the brand and comment on the purpose of these extra digital elements.
- How are the news values made clear on the digital publications? Do the political ideologies remain the same and how can you tell?
- Do you think that both platforms (online and print) attract the same readership or not? Explain your answer referencing the readership data you have been given for both publications.
- Who do you think invests more capital in producing their online brand? Consider why this may be the case when thinking about readership habits.
- How do you think the two brands generate income or profit from their online publications?
- What interactive elements are available on the online platform and how might they increase reader loyalty?